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One of the things that I loved about living in Toronto was that I got to see the Canadian lit scene in action. Established authors, the up and coming authors, they all made their way through there hosting signings and readings. I was there for two years and saw Margaret Atwood (several times), Ami McKay, Robert Munsch, Neil Smith, Miriam Toews, Wayson Choy and many more. Canada Day is usually celebrated on July 1 but some book blogs decided to declare a day of Canadian literature celebration earlier this week.
Chasing Ray hosted the event. Colleen also paid homage to one of my favourite authors - Pierre Burton. I remember writing a term paper for school and really not having time to read books cover to cover (let me hear a "woohoo!" for good indexes...) but one of Pierre Burton's books drew me in and forced me to read it cover to cover. Another one of his books drew Colleen in the same way and I think she describes his writing best.
He writes history as a novelist, meaning he writes as if we don't know how the story will end or what will happen next. This is not to suggest that he plays with fact, it's just that he makes it all so damn exciting that you are on the edge of your seat, even when you already know how the whole thing is going to turn out.
Liz at A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy had trouble picking just one book, so she picked two.
At Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast Jules and Eisha picked two books also.
Teen Book Reviews caused me to have an "OMG! Why didn't I know about these books!" moment. Jocelyn chose to write about author Carol Matas. Matas has written many books for children, including WWII historical fiction novels. Let me tell you that as soon as I have access to a good library her books are being added to my request list - pronto.
Chicken Spaghetti shines some light on a novel called Rink of Dreams by Nancy L.M. Russell. The novel combines two things that are of interest to me personally - Prince Edward Island and Canada's obsession with hockey. (For another children's book that combines both try Manure on My Skates by Dennis McCloskey if you can get your hands on a copy.)
And at Once Upon A Bookshelf Courtney interviews Maggie L. Wood, a Canadian Mistolear trilogy. When she asked Wood to name some of her favourite Canadian writers she came up with a great list.
There’s so many! I love, of course, Susan Juby. I love Kenneth Oppel, Barbara Haworth-Attard, Martine Leavitt, Janet McNaughton, Karleen Bradford, Arthur Slade, Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry, Carrie Mac, Richard Scrimger and Tim Wynne-Jones to name a few. I know there are a lot more too.
A list is a good way to go. I couldn't just name one. Can you? Who's your favourite Canadian author?
Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.
